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On the same day Reuters reported Iran may be capable of arming a missile capable of hitting the U.S. by 2015, The Washington Post’s editorial board has declared the Obama Administration completely “Confused On Iran”:

[T]he public signs of the administration's squishiness about military options are worrisome because of the lack of progress on its two-track strategy of offering negotiations and threatening sanctions. A year-long attempt at engagement failed; now the push for sanctions is proceeding at a snail's pace.

Though President Obama claims all options are on the table when it comes to dealing with Iran, the paths left open to the administration continue to dwindle.  As the editorial board goes on to note, “the administration has so far shrunk from supporting sanctions, such as a gasoline embargo, that might heighten popular anger against the regime.”  Even using the military option as an intimidation tactic seems to be off the table.

With the growing specter of a nuclear Iran, ... more

Today, when asked whether a European-style Value Added Tax is under consideration by the Obama administration, press secretary Robert Gibbs claimed:

This is not something the president has proposed, nor is it under consideration.

But not only has Obama advisor Paul Volcker indicated that a VAT is being considered, but The New York Times reports that the Obama’s economic team has already calculated how big of a VAT they’ll need in order to pay for their binge spending:

[S]ince any Social Security plan would probably preserve benefits for those nearing retirement, it would not help the administration achieve its goal of reducing the deficit to 3 percent of gross domestic product, from 10 percent, within a decade.

One way to reach that 3 percent goal, by the calculations of Mr. Obama’s economic team: a 5 percent value-added tax, which would generate enough revenue to simultaneously permit the reduction in corporate tax rates Republicans favor.

As we have noted before, a VAT is an ... more